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The Unknown Nightmare/Episode 36
"Trigger" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of The Unknown Nightmare and the first episode of the final four. Plot Synopsis It has been almost a month since the operation, 39 days since the outbreak. Charlie finally gets what he wants, but not everything. He works for Joe, and is allowed back to Southfalls. Xander explains what his test was, and the crazy man in Southfalls finally breaks. Previously… On The Unknown Nightmare After Joe took Charlie, Andy and Sean went after them. Dave and Anya died in the sub, while the rest were forced back to Southfalls. Charlie agreed to do an operation to take care of his tumor, but is forced to work for Joe. Plot Flashback (Abandoned House: The Day Before The Room) The body fell to the floor, the last of three undead people were killed by Charlie. It was dark, the house was cold, and he was alone. He sat down on the couch in the living room. He was tired, ready to fall asleep. But he hadn't eaten anything in a while, so he went into the kitchen. He checked the refrigerator first, finding a bunch of drinks. There were cans of Coke, Pepsi and a six-pack of beer. He went for the beer, but stopped, remembering the reason he quit. He put it back, taking the can of Coke. He looked in the cupboards, finding biscuits, cake, beans, nothing that looked any bit good. He grabbed whatever he could, going back into the lying room. He set down the food, sitting down in front of the fireplace. There were matches near it, so he lit a fire. Once the fire was lit, he grabbed the bodies and dragged them out to the hallway. He closed the curtains, and sat down on the couch. He began eating, finally able to relax after a couple of days of running. It was amazing how fast the world went to shit. It took just two days to lose everything. His daughter was still out there, and he was still hell-bent on getting her. The crackles caused by the flames almost became his focus, he just stared into the fire. He felt a hand go over his mouth, a small pinch in his neck. His eyes started to close, his body went limp, his vision doubled right before he passed out. A man took a syringe out of his neck. He grabbed the gun out of Charlie's pants, taking it apart. Out came a tracer, planted there by Jim. The gun was the same one that Jim had given him when Charlie was looking for his daughter. Charlie had kept it, not fully thinking about if he would get caught. If Charlie gave the gun back to Jim, Jim would've given it back the night he let Charlie go. The man stood up, calling Joe on the phone. He had a tattoo on his forearm, three starts in the shape of a triangle, connected by lines. ---- Present (Joe's Town: Day 39) Charlie buttoned his shirt, staring at himself in the mirror. He took a deep breath, feeling nervous. He was in a house, one that Joe's men had helped getting. Joe's town had spread, getting a small bit bigger. Joe's town previously had man-made buildings, but now they also had a neighbourhood. Charlie had been working with Joe for a couple of weeks, after recovering from the surgery. His hair was short, covering the scar left from the operation. Today was the day, the day he would get to see his wife for the first time in weeks. He was getting ready, trying to make himself look as healthy as possible. He noticed how much weight he had lost, and only now was he starting to gain it back. Joe had only given him permission to be back with his wife, his daughter for some reason wasn't going to be given back for a while. Charlie had helped with some stuff, mostly with building some of the man-made buildings, making sure they were safe. He had also helped with supply runs, but only in the last couple of days. Andy had been in contact with him, after going back to Southfalls a week earlier. Sean went with him, staying as far away from Joe as he could. It took a lot of convincing, but Charlie was able to explain to them his plan. He had learned of Dave, Anya and Gordon's deaths once he woke up after the surgery, but it was a few hours before he was able to realize where he was. Rachel was taken away before he could see her. Jason had become a leader in Southfalls, the majority of the town agreeing to help with Joe. They hadn't acted on it yet, waiting for Charlie to make his move first. There was a knock on the door, and Charlie walked out of the bathroom. He opened the door, greeted by one of Joe's guards. "Time to go", the guard said. "Just one second", Charlie said, walking back into the house. He went into the bedroom, going to the table next to his bed. He took the photo of his wife and daughter, and took the origami bird. They were outside Joe's office, in one of the real buildings in his town. Charlie's heart started racing, he was getting more and more nervous. The guard knocked on the door, and waited for Joe's approval to let Charlie in. "Come in", Joe said. The guard opened the door, and Charlie slowly stepped in. He saw the back of her head, looking outside the window. She turned to him, a relieved look on her face. Rachel ran towards him, hugging him hard. It almost felt fake, as if it was a dream. How cruel would that be, if it wasn't real? But he couldn't let go, and his emotions caught up with him. His eyes welled up, and he felt her crying in his arms. He looked up at Joe, who had a faint smile on his face. "Sorry to cut the reunion short", Joe said, "But we need to discuss business". Rachel looked at him, and then Charlie. "What business?" Charlie asked. "Well..." Joe began, "We won't need you here anymore, not for a while. You can go back to Southfalls for now, you and Rachel. You'll see Emily soon, I promise". "I'm not leaving here without her", Rachel snapped. "Look", Joe said, "I'm gonna be completely honest with you. She is the last piece of leverage I have on you. I need you. Your work so far has been helpful, and we're nearing the end. So just bear with me for a while, and you'll see her soon". Charlie sighed, and watched as Joe walked to a safe. Charlie looked on the desk, seeing a map. A red circle was on it, right by the sea. The map was under a pile of papers, so Charlie felt that Joe wouldn't realize it would be gone, or that he might think he lost it. Charlie took the map, Rachel giving him a look. He put the map in his pocket, just as Joe closed the safe and turned around. "Take this", Joe said, handing Charlie a phone, "You can keep in contact with that. That's if the one in the mayor's office doesn't work". ---- Present (Random Neighbourhood: Day 39) A knife flew into the back of a walker's head. It collapsed to the floor, and Sean grabbed the knife from it. They were at the end of their run, him and Xander. It was safe to say Xander wasn't much of a team player, keeping a lot of stuff from the run instead of giving it to the rest of the townspeople. But he was a survivor, and he wasn't going to get himself killed. Sean didn't wear the bandage over his face and arms anymore, leaving his burns to be seen. He felt he looked more dangerous and badass. He'd rather look like that than wimpy and vulnerable. "You got it all?" Sean asked. "We got enough", Xander said, "Let's get back to the car". They left the house, walking out to the car. Southfalls had its own parking lot, getting a few cars so that runs could be made easier. The Impala was always untouched, Charlie warning them that he'd kill them if they drove it. It may not have been easy for Sean, walking around with a half-burned face, but it wasn't easy on Xander either. He had to live with what he did, look at it every day. After loading up the car, Xander took out a couple of beers from the car. Xander leant against the side of it, Sean sitting on the front. Xander looked down at the drink, playing with the label. He felt different that day, more confident, so he felt like today would be a good day to explain himself. "I know you want to know", he sighed. "Know what?" Sean asked. "About my test..." Sean sighed, taking a drink of the beer, "You don't have to". "Just... shut up and listen", Xander snapped. He needed to let it out, and wasn't going to go another day with a secret. He looked out into the distance, took a drink, thinking about what he was going to say. "Before you came, I was there for weeks", Xander said, "In that cell... It was abandoned years beforehand, never demolished. He took me from my house, I was on my own". Sean listened to him, keeping his eye out for any walkers. "My name was Niles... Niles Landon", he continued, "I was a spoilt brat. I was smart, went into the family business. My uh- father died a while afterwards... I looked up to him, thought he was superman. I never went to college, spending as much time with him as I could. Cancer..." It became hard for Sean to listen, he knew the story would only get worse, and it started off pretty badly. "I changed my name... I became Xander Gould. I went on to marry, have two kids... Benjamin and Daniel. Of course... I wasn't the best dad, so when they turned twenty-one, they began to buy drugs with my money. I later found out from Joe that the drugs came from your buddy, Ethan", Xander took another sip, "I was an asshole, beating them, throwing them out of the house. I should've gotten them help, but..." He continued on, not even at the beginning of the story he wanted to tell, "I took it out on my wife, eventually she ended up leaving me. That's when I was taken. He put me in that cell... I was in the same position you were in. He sliced... he carved... and tore at me in ways that you couldn't even- I never got any sleep, never got any food. He made it worse for me. At the end of every day, he'd make me an offer... to take me down, if I put people up, if I started to torture instead. Every day I told him to stuff it up his ass..." Sean felt shivers go up and down his spine, remembering back to when he was tortured. He stayed silent. "For two weeks I told him..." Xander continued, "But... I just... I couldn't do it anymore. So I got down, out of those chains". His voice began to break, tears fell down his eyes, but he couldn't stop talking. "I started ripping them apart", he said, his voice barely managing to say words, "Before you... there were so many. I lost count of how many people... But the things that I did to them... the things that I did to you-" "Xander", Sean interrupted, "You held out as long as you could, longer than anyone would have. Look... I forgive you for what you did, in some way, we all had to do bad things". Xander took a deep breath, "Maybe you ''can forgive me... But, I can't forgive myself. Not for what did to them, not for what I did to you. The night at the shack... you asked me how I feel. How I feel, this, inside me... I- I just wish I couldn't feel anything anymore, Sean". Sean looked down to the ground, not able to imagine what he went through. Xander sat there, crying. He wanted to tell himself to stop, to man up. But he couldn't, he felt as if he could never stop. ---- 'Present (Southfalls: Day 39)''' The gates opened, walkers now once again hung up on them. Charlie and Rachel were greeted back, now at their new home. Jason and Henry greeted them first, happy to see that they were okay. Ava and Molly came up soon after, Molly now without a cast. For the first time in so long, Charlie and Rachel were happy. But without their daughter, a hole couldn't be filled. Everything seemed the same, other than Jason being the new "mayor" of the town. He had made his way up quickly, as the townspeople had now been trained as an army. Andy had come out from the main building, which had an amateur sign called "City Hall" on it. He had a big smile on his face, delighted to see them back. He hugged Charlie, then hugging Rachel. He also seemed a lot happier. "So, what's going on?" Henry asked them. "Well... I'm back here for a while", Charlie said, "Which... we all know what that means". "So we're ready?" Jason asked. "Not... exactly", Charlie said, "I haven't really... gotten the code yet. But I have a map, I don't know where it goes but there's a red circle on it, that's gotta be something". "We need that code, Charlie", Andy said. "I know", Charlie said, "It's just... He has people there now". "At the lab?" Ava asked. "Yeah... How do you know about the lab?" Charlie asked. "Andy explained it to me". "Were you as confused as I was?" "Yup... probably more confused", she said. "How many?" Jason asked. "I dunno", Charlie said, "But it can't be good. If we did get the code, no way would we get to that lab without bloodshed". "Okay..." Jason said, "When do we leave?" "Tonight... tomorrow. It's up to you", Charlie said. "Tonight..." Jason said, "It'll be dark, just in case people are there". Charlie took the map out of his pocket, handing it to Jason. Jason nodded, walking back to the City Hall. The others went back to their own things, as Charlie and Rachel were left on their own. They hadn't talked on their way here, so they sat down at the only place where they had privacy, on one of the watchtowers. Charlie excused the person that was up there, being handed a sniper rifle. They sat in silence for a few seconds, until Charlie spoke up. "So... um", Charlie said awkwardly, "How've you been?" It was sort of a dumb question, but it was a good way to start. "Well... I woke up in a motel room. A guy saved me, and we found the group". Charlie nodded, unsure of what else to ask her. "We were told by a note in one of the hotel rooms that our families were gone", she said, "I didn't know what to do". "It's okay", Charlie said, "You couldn't have done anything. Besides... I should have been there for you, for Emily". "It was Joe's fault", Rachel said, "I understand what you went through... after you thought I died". Charlie looked down at the ground, disappointed that she knew. "You did what you could", she said, putting her arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Did you see her at all?" Charlie asked. "No", she muttered, "How are we sure she's alive?" Charlie looked at her, "She's alive". They both comforted each other, as Charlie looked out into the distance. He noticed a car driving up the road towards the town. They came down from the watchtower as the gates opened. Sean and Xander parked the car in the parking lot, and walked inside the town. Sean stopped when he saw Charlie, and when Charlie saw the burn marks, he felt bad. They weren't friends, but they were on good terms. They walked towards each other. They shook hands. "Hey", Charlie said. "What're you doing here?" Sean asked. Xander was walking up behind them. "Well..." Charlie said, "We-uh, we didn't get the code, but Joe let us come here for a while. I got a map, we're heading there tonight". "What's there?" Sean asked. "Not sure", Charlie said, when Xander was near them, he asked, "You coming with us?" "Suck my ass", Xander snapped, walking past them. Charlie looked back at Sean, "Nice to see that he perked up". "Yeah... he hasn't had a good day", Sean said, "You look good". "You don't look too bad yourself", Charlie said, as they both laughed. They tried their best to be nice to each other, but Charlie still sort of resented Sean. ---- Andy sat in the tent, putting on his shirt. Ava lay behind him. "So..." she said, "Are you ready for tonight?" Andy laughed, "I dunno... You kind of tired me out". She laughed too, sitting up, "I still don't understand why we keep this a secret". Andy wanted to tell her the truth, he didn't want to make it official because he was afraid. Afraid in case she'd be killed too. "I don't mind if you tell people", he lied. She smiled, kissing him and lying back down. He sighed, putting his hands to his head. ---- As Charlie and Sean were talking, a person in the distance was watching. The crazy man, still crazy, still alive. He looked around, watching everyone walk by. He looked at the building near the gate, the one with all the undead in it. He began to walk towards it. Jason came back outside, walking over to Charlie. "We got a group", Jason said, "They'll be ready by tonight". "Nice", Charlie said, "So, you're like... the mayor". "Yeah", Jason said, "But... I'm making things better". "Nice to see you still but biters up on the gate", Charlie said. "Yeah, I have people for that", Jason said, "Before the mayor died, his guards were told not to use the children. So, I kept the same rule". "There are children in there?" Charlie asked. "Yup", Jason said, "These guys took care of the adults, Joe's people took care of the kids". Charlie sighed, watching Rachel sitting down with Molly. He kept an eye on her, afraid in case he loses her again. "How much ammo do we have?" Charlie asked. "Come on, I'll show you", Jason said. They walked towards a small shack by the gate, opposite the building with the undead. Jason unlocked it, opening it up. It was small, but filled with weapons. "Jesus", Charlie said. "We have enough for a while", Jason said, "Hopefully all of this will be over by the time we run out". Charlie laughed, agreeing with him. They heard screams outside, causing them all to turn around and run out of the shack. Across from them, they saw the crazy man. He was at the building, his hand on the lock. They watched as he unlocked it, all of them stuck in place. "How the fuck did he get a key?" Jason shouted. The doors swung open. The man took a step back, looking up to the sky, lifting his arms up as if he was welcoming them out. One by one, they started to come out. It was surreal. Just like that, something bad was about to happen. They started to swarm out, and now the group were able to move. Jason turned around grabbing a gun. Charlie and Sean followed. Andy got out of the tent, hearing the screams too. He first saw Charlie, Jason and Sean running towards the building with guns, before seeing all of the walkers coming out. He ran to the shack. The crazy man was surrounded by them, they grabbed him, biting him, tearing at him. He just let them have him. The others kept going towards the group, as Charlie, Jason and Andy lined up in front of them. They began shooting, unloading on them. At first they missed, but eventually started to get the hang of it again. It was a while since they used guns to kill them. There were too many, but more and more people helped them. Henry came out of the infirmary, seeing what was going on. A month ago he would've let them handle it, but nowadays he helps out. The walkers began piling up, but more and more came out. Then, the first kid came out. They kept shooting for the adults, hoping that somebody else would shoot the child. Eventually, Andy shot it. When more and more came out, everyone shot a child. Charlie was the only one who didn't, not having the heart to do it. The gunfire was loud, but eventually, the walkers stopped coming out, none left. The last gunshot echoed for a long time. Everyone stayed in a line, shocked. There were only nine or ten people, Ava, Rachel and Henry had helped them. The sight was terrible, seeing all the dead bodies lying on the ground. There were at least forty of them. Charlie looked back at Jason, and Jason automatically knew what he meant. There were a lot of children, meaning Joe's people killed them all. There was a long silence, but the groans of a walker interrupted it. It was coming from the building, obviously they hadn't killed them all. Charlie raised his gun, ready to take it out. It walked out. It had small feet, a pink shirt. It was a young girl. Her face was decayed, she couldn't have been more than seven. For some reason, Charlie thought she looked familiar, until he realized. Rachel started to run towards her. "Emily!" she screamed. The scream was horrifying. Jason grabbed Rachel as she passed, keeping her from getting hurt. They all stood in place, looking at Emily. Charlie lowered his gun, feeling sick to his stomach. He took a step forward, wanting to help her. But then, he took a step back, not wanting to do what must be done. She kept walking towards him, snarling. It was a terrifying sight, and there was no way that they could ever forget it. Charlie began to cry, his head hanging low. He took his eyes off of her, it was too hard to look. Rachel's screams haunted them all, as they tried not to listen. Andy looked at Charlie, about to put Emily down himself. But Charlie raised his head, taking a deep breath, and taking his first step. As he began walking, he thought back to when he looked for her. He had done so much, been put through so much, and this entire time, she was dead. He raised his gun, aiming it towards her head, and for one last time, he looked into her eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her smile, because when he looked into her eyes, he remembered that whenever she used to smile, she had a glimmer in her eyes. He stood a few feet away, the gun now perfectly in line. He stared down the barrel of the gun. He pulled the trigger. Did you like this episode? Like Dislike Deaths *Emily Category:The Unknown Nightmare Category:The Unknown Nightmare Episodes Category:Issues